Primero Grove is a campus apartment complex managed by EAH, Inc. and available for UC Davis students. Leases are 50-week agreements that run from approximately September 11 - August 28.

Student Housing began leasing 3 of the buildings in Primero Grove for the 2011-2012 Academic Year for use as dorms. The buildings being used as dorms were Spruce, Magnolia, and Manzanita. Laurel building remained a privately run apartment complex. In later years, Student Housing leased more of the complex and still does to this day.

Because the complex is located on campus, prospective tenants should be aware that they are subject to campus regulations including noise and alcohol restrictions as well as parking limitations, no pets. There is high speed Ethernet Resnet and cable connections are included in each room. Parts of Primero Grove also have wireless internet access via ResNetX. Each apartment features a kitchen with a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and central air conditioning. Each apartment has its own balcony(2nd and third floor units) or patio(first floor units). Each apartment features its own gas water heater. There are no elevators. All rooms are carpeted along with the living rooms. The kitchens and dining areas have linoleum tiles.

Apartments that are run by Student Housing as dorms are furnished with standard dorm furniture in the rooms and also include a sofa for the living room and a table for the dining area.

First priority is given to full-time continuing, professional or graduate students.

Second priority is given to full-time incoming transfer students — approval documenting special circumstances must first be provided by Student Housing.

Third priority is given to incoming freshmen — approval documenting special circumstances must first be provided by Student Housing.

Primero Grove establishes a waiting list in January each year, but you must check their website regularly because they post the information on the day the list is opened. In 2006, the list was announced the evening before it opened. Each roommate will need to complete an application which you can download from their site ahead of time and submit it along with a $25 application fee; cashiers check or money order. By late February/March, you know whether you're in or not. Lease signing is in late March/early April. UC Regents approve rental rates.

Primero Grove originally opened in the Fall of 1998 as the Primero Grove Residence Hall. For the 1999-2000 academic year, the Primero Grove Commons Building became the Primero Grove Dining Commons. At that time the Commons Building did not have a management office and it was a large open building with sofas, tables, and areas for studying. The Primero Grove Dining Commons was open only for dinner, but allowed access to all students in student housing. It featured a chef who cooked individual pasta dishes customized for each person's order, a soda fountain, mini-salad bar, and an ice cream treat refrigerator. In Fall of 2000, Primero Grove Apartments opened up and only about half of Primero Grove was rented out to the Student Housing office as Residence Halls. This arrangement continued until summer 2005 when all of Primero Grove became apartment housing only and Student Housing stopped using it for dorms. For the 2011-2012 Academic Year, Student Housing began leasing 3 buildings as dorms and continued to lease rooms in Primero Grove in the years after that.

Primero Grove was built on the site of the former Primero Hall dorm. Primero Hall closed as a dorm in June 1991. The buildings were named after faculty members Charles M. Titus, Louise C. Struve, Elmer H. Hughes, and Samuel H. Beckett.

Primero Grove in 3D

A 3D view of the Primero Grove Office building can be seen in Google Earth. This building was modeled by James Curtis Computing Solutions and was accepted into the 3D buildings layer of Google Earth on Sunday, July 18th 2010. To view this model now you can click Here. He hopes to start getting the rest of the apartments modeled soon.

Comments:

2008-05-06 15:59:17 What are the experiences that other people have had with Primero Grove, both with living there, and with the application process? Is it quiet? Would you recommend it? —IDoNotExist

I lived in one of the 2 bed units for one summer and I would not recommend it. Sure, it's close to classes and all, but it feels like dorm living to me (cramped living spaces, artificially landscaped grounds, among other things). I think noise level would definitely depend on your neighbor...I had no problem with noise at all— in fact, I would even say it's too quiet for my liking. It's not a bad apartment at all from what I remember/experienced, but I don't think it's for people who dislike cubicle-like apartments. Can't comment on the application process, as I was subleasing at the time. —il

2008-05-06 18:20:42 I lived at Primero Grove for 3 years. I have to say that the walls are paper thin. You can hear people stomping down the hallways. You can also hear people walking on the floor above you. It can get really annoying at night. The room sizes are somewhat small compared to other apartments in Davis. You do get high speed campus internet access and cable. The fan in the bathroom was way too loud and the fan turns on when the light is switched on. The balconies are small and the kitchens are cramped. There are no elevators, so if you live on the third floor you have to climb up huge stairs all the time. There is only one laundry room and it is on the ground floor. It is always crowded to capacity except early in the morning on weekdays. It is miserable trying to drag your laundry that far just to find all the washers and dryers taken. —Jedron

2008-05-06 20:39:00 I left almost 6 years ago. I don't know if management has changed. However, when I was there the Manager was very friendly and the maintenance team was very quick to respond to repair requests. Often, they would come the same day to repair things. In fact, once the laundry room door jammed shut late at night. A worker came to fix it in less than an hour, even though it was 2 AM. During the wait, I sent a tiny freshman through the window to open the door. Another time, our garbage disposal jammed and someone came to fix it within 10 minutes (it was a weekday). They often have free barbecues every once in a while. —Jedron

2008-07-27 19:16:19 I would say the current staff suck. I went in for an application and they rudely stated "go online" which sure I could go online but I was hoping to converse with them ask a few questions that I knew couldn't be answered online. They finally handed me an application and stated that it was due by a certain date and that I would need to bring in a money order etc... which I did what they said by that date and returned with everything that was needed, they claimed at that time that I had missed the deadline. They completely lied about the date knowing I would miss it and I did ended up missing the application deadline. I was so pissed because they only take in apps once a year in january (or february?) and so now I have been stuck at the place I am at again for another year due to the lease renewal. They need to get better staff that won't just tell you something to get rid of you, thats very rude and acted unethically. —csmith

2008-07-27 19:50:53 Is this a common experience among those who apply there or live there? For those of you who live there currently, what is your experience like right now? —IDoNotExist

2008-07-27 21:44:51 Applying by yourself is the worst way to try to get in. There are thousands of applicants and your chances of getting an empty space is very small. 1 in thousands. The people who already live there usually like it so much that they stay there for years. The best way to get in is to befriend someone who already lives there. In fact, current residents often post signs asking for roommates or apartment-mates in the Commons building. You need to take advantage of that first. Primero Grove is probably the most popular place that people want to live in. The on campus location is what makes it so nice. However, you do have to remember that this place is not perfect. —Jedron

2008-07-28 00:00:03 So what is your experience living there like? —IDoNotExist

2008-07-28 00:48:09 When I lived there, I loved it. The closeness to classes was the best part. The campus is your backyard. The high speed Resnet and cable tv were great. If I had to come back to Davis, I would live there again. However, they do hire part time and temp employees to run the office. You would always see a different face there. I always would go there to pay rent and the people were nice to me. But you never know what kind of temp employee they might have hired now. However, when the manager was there, he was cool. I remember when the applications were due. People would camp out in front of the office overnight with their sleeping bags and lawn chairs. That is what it takes to get the limited spots. Those who turn in applications after the camp out don't stand a chance of getting in.

Living at Primero was not perfect. The walls are paper thin, the laundry room is often all occupied, and you can hear people stomping down the halls. However, it usually is quiet, clean, and well maintained.

I also lived off campus at another apartment and taking the bus to class took valuable time. However, off campus apartments have more room than Primero. The rooms, kitchens, living rooms, and bathrooms at Primero are kind of small. —Jedron

2008-08-05 13:10:16 I have lived here for more than a year. They just repainted in hideous colors; now it looks like baby food. ugh Besides that, I put in a repair request when I first moved in (sept) and they still haven't fixed it. Keep giving me lousy excuses. The staff are rude and management wants to enter your apartment every other day to do stupid stuff. And everything they do drags out forever. They just redid the commons (eh) and it took months (that we couldn't use it). And the painting took forever too. Don't live here unless you really want to be close to classes. —Nana

2008-08-05 16:11:54 For what sorts of things do they want to enter your apartment —IDoNotExist

2008-12-02 13:20:35 How are the kitchens? Modern, well leveled stove, standard size refrigerators? Is there a reasonable amount of counter and cabinet / pantry space? Thanks in advanced! —RyanMikulovsky

I'm just being picky. And I meant a well leveled stove. It is a stove where oil doesn't slop to one side of the pan, making frying a little more difficult than necessary. Again, I'm just being picky and this really isn't the most interesting question. I'm really more concerned about storage and counter space in the kitchens. —RyanMikulovsky

2008-12-02 19:56:44 I used to live in Primero Grove. Unless they have remodeled since 2002, the kitchens are small. The size of the kitchen varies depending on the size of the apartment. I have visited all of the different sized kitchens. The Studio kitchen is kind of narrow and the other units have compact kitchens. The counters are very small, but enough to hold basic items such as a microwave. The 3 bedroom kitchens are also small and cramped. The handicapped accessible units have slightly more space in their kitchens, but there are very few of them. The electric stoves back in 2002 had drip pans that always got dirty and were almost impossible to clean. They charge you for dirty drip pans. You also have to pay a gas bill for the hot water heater. The refrigerators vary in size. The smallest units have tiny refrigerators and most of the 3 and 4 bedroom units have normal sized refrigerators. However, I lived in a 3 bedroom unit and they gave us a smaller refrigerator and it was too small for all 4 people. The cabinet space in the 3 bedroom unit was barely enough for 4 people. The cabinets were always packed, but there are also upper cabinets with more storage that you can reach if you are very tall. —MaxLucas

2008-12-03 16:29:27 Thank you, Max! That was very helpful. —RyanMikulovsky

2009-01-13 08:04:44 Anyone wnat to sublease their apartment? Looking for a 1BR. —gc729

2009-03-01 18:36:03 Hey! Is anyone currently living in a studio graduating at the end of this year??? I really want to live at Primero for my fifth and final year, so hopefully someone can make this happen! —JasonMasino

2009-03-16 01:25:56 the primero grove manager (the older white woman), chelli bassler is typically less than courteous, but its because she's been going through hard times.. she just filed for her own chapter 13 bankruptcy. —igaboj

2009-03-21 00:32:29 The best thing about living here is the proximity to campus and the cleanliness/maintenance. Mary is a pleasure to work with. She is the only one in the leasing office that I would advise anyone to go to, as she actually has feelings and the sensibility to be courteous to her residents. Personally, I feel that Chelli

2009-03-30 10:00:46 I don't know, Mary can be pretty insensitive sometimes. Just a heads up, watch for what they take from your security deposit. They took money for stuff they didn't have the right to. —Nana

2009-03-31 00:19:08 If they took anything from your deposit you didn't leave it like you got it. My apartment was in great condition when I moved in and when I left, I cleaned it and left it like they gave it to me. They don't charge you for things like other Davis apartment managers do. —peoplesvoice

2009-04-02 17:03:00 In response to igaboj, if you have a problem with the manager quit hiding behind a website and publishing her personnal information. Just think about it, you may piss someone off they could do the same to you (KARMA — WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND, AND YOURS IS STILL TO COME. My advice to you is to remove the personnal information and confront her on the issue you have, be the bigger person. —peoplesvoice

Just so you know, that's not personal. The top four Google returns for her name are her newsletter at ucdavis.edu, this Davis Wiki entry, her newsletter at primerogrove.com, and her US Federal Court records having to do with her bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a public event, and is actually required to be published in the local newspapers (which is why you have a Legal Notices section of the paper). I'm not sure you are clear about the nature of what you are arguing about, although the intent of protecting somebody is a kind gesture. —Evan 'JabberWokky' Edwards, (814) 889-8845

I do know it is a public record, but this was an attack. Although I think it is pretty mean and seems to be a personal attack on her because of some unknown reason, and I am finding it hard to believe that some people here think there's nothing wrong with it. I just see it as wrong and to leave things like that and not remove it make no sense to me. It should be removed. If people would just respect others, and I hope that all really think about what they post cause it WILL come around and bite them back.

2009-11-04 14:17:11 The management that runs this apartment complex is unprofessional and irresponsible. I had a concern with what was returned on my security deposit and tried to resolve the problem with the management directly. I left phone messages, and sent e-mails. Almost a month after my initial contact was made I had received no responses or replies. Only after contacting the Better Business Bureau and filing a complaint did I receive a response. The response which was cc:ed to the parent company (EAH, located in San Rafael, Ca.), and the UC Davis Student Housing was full of spelling errors, falsified statements of phone conversations, and some supplemental documents were supplied that were for the previous tenant in my apartment a year before me. The deductions made from my security deposit were in direct violation of the California Renters Code. Information for this can be found at:

Please if you are unsatisfied with the deductions from your security deposit, or any of the service provided by the management at this complex file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You will need to file the complaint against their parent company (EAH) and it will only take a couple of minutes. The link is below.

2009-11-18 14:13:44 I lived here for a year and I positively hated it. The older white lady thats always there and smoking in the parking lot is extremely mean and the security deposit that they returned was pretty ridiculous — they charged me for basic maintenance that they should've taken care of themselves. The only plus is the proximity to campus. —ElizabethLee

2011-01-12 15:59:39 Apartments are nice and the grounds are ALWAYS maintained. Apartment maintenance issues are always dealt with really quickly (usually same day) and parking is always available. Free internet and cable to boot!

...BUT...!!!

Let me be very clear: I think the staff here is nice and always courteous. I do not think my problem below stems from management at the complex level but somewhere up the ladder.

Management is less than "transparant", for lack of a better term, about the actual type of housing this is. After your lease is signed some apartments are randomly chosen for a spot check by Yolo County HUD (I'm pretty sure it was HUD)to see if you qualify for your SUBSIDIZED apartment. Nowhere on my lease did it say these were subsidized apartments. Financial checks - yes. Subsidized? - no.

I think it is somewhat misleading to not inform prospective tenants that these apartments are subject to financial restrictions and not just "Student Apartments". This, needless to say, caught me off-guard and I believe that the terms of your lease should specify very clearly that you may be subject to such a check by Yolo county. Better yet, perform such checks PRIOR to allowing people to sign the full lease for the apartment. —peterdoubleyou

2011-02-01 14:29:51 Management is disgusting. Mary (the one with the heavy accent) is a spiteful b*tch. There's no better word to describe her. She makes this entire living experience horrible. I've encountered her several times with simple questions/requests and she always finds a way to make you want to slap the living daylight out of her. She is purely unprofessional.

Internet lags all the time. And what is up with this feces-colored paint on the doors?

Instead of renovating or repainting, hire better management please. I've never had to write scathing criticisms like this, but I think people should know. —AlexCal

AlexCal: While its quite clear that you aren't too happy with the management at the complex, it might be more helpful to potential residents to explain why. What kind of requests did you make, and what was the result? How did this differ from your expectations? What should have been done differently? —IDoNotExist

2011-02-03 15:05:14 Rumor has it the dorm overcrowding, the planned closing of Castilian, and the reconstruction of Tercero, is all leading to the potential restructuring of Primero. The apartments will likely be returning as freshman dorms in the Fall of 2011, leaving transfer students to figure out their own housing once again! (Though I'll keep my sources a secret) —AshleyMatson

2011-05-19 11:06:15 Starting in Fall of 2011, all but 1 of the 4 Primero Grove buildings will be for freshmen. —Bijan

2011-07-28 11:07:18 I don't know why everyone has so many negative things to say about Primero Grove. Management has always been outstanding and service is absolutely phenomenal. Anyone with a complaint must be a total d-bag who treats other people rudely and wonders why they aren't as friendly back. The walls do seem pretty thin, but this is a college campus (very close to freshman dorms) so I'm not sure you can expect much quiet in general what with all the rebellious teens who finally can stay up all night and are having their first beers. My neighbors have been really approachable about keeping noise down during weekdays but again, I wouldn't expect much quiet in general (certainly not on weekends) and if you are a light sleeper like myself I HIGHLY recommend heavy duty earplugs. Overall the housing experience at Primero is great. The apartments are in solid condition, service is quick and friendly and you really can't beat the convenience factor. I'm not sure what sort of royalty-minded people have lived here and posted above me. Maybe you princes and princesses should have spent more time working hard on getting the best education possible than finding reasons to complain about a completely satisfactory apartment complex. —kann